The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) plans to float tenders for the third component (M3) of the integrated stormwater drain (ISWD) project in the Perungudi and Sholinganallur areas alongside the Kovalam Basin on February 16.
The total length of the drain is 360 km and the project, estimated to cost ₹1,714 crore, will be implemented alongside the Pallikaranai marshland, south of Buckingham Canal and the watershed area on the south coast.
As per a document shared by the GCC, the contractors started work on September 1, 2020, after the government accorded administrative sanction for the construction of ISWD in November 2018 with ₹270.38 crore as retrospective financing from KfW.
“Resident Welfare Associations of the M3 area started agitating against the project and filed a case in the National Green Tribunal(NGT). On the directions of NGT, Member Secretary, Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority ( TNSCZMA) issued a stoppage notice. District Coastal Zone Management Authority (DCZMA), TNCZMA recommended the project for CRZ clearance to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC), New Delhi. At this stage, CRZ clearance is pending with MoEF & CC New Delhi. Due to a delay in obtaining CRZ clearance, GCC issued a termination notice to 14 civil works contracts,” according to the document.
Now, CRZ clearance for the project has been obtained from the Ministry. Tenders have been called for nine different packages for Sriram Avenue, Kannappa Nagar, Kazura Garden Nagar, Radio Colony, Secretariat Colony, Okkiyam Thoraipakkam, Jothi Nagar, Bharathiyar Nagar, Indira Nagar, Neelangarai, Vettuvankeni, and Semmencheri, the document stated.
According to S. Rajendiran, Chief Engineer (General) of the GCC, the package sizes of the project, funded under the German bank KfW, were increased and the qualifications of the contractor were modified to expedite completion of the work.
The package sizes were increased so that there is a singular contractor for a longer span, to avoid deviations or gaps in the slope of the SWD, he added.
The work order is expected to be issued in a week after the tender is finalised and the phase is expected to be done by 18 months, he added.
Project, so far
As per a document shared by the Corporation, GAUFF Engineering, the consultant firm appointed by KfW, submitted a feasibility report on the prevention of recurring floods and stagnation in densely populated colonies and the IT corridor in May 2019 in Thoraipakkam, Perungudi, Pallikaranai, Palavallam, Injambakkam, Karapakkam and Madipakkam — along Kovalam Basin.
KfW bank will provide a loan amounting to ₹1,200 crore, while the Tamil Nadu government will contribute ₹342.80 crore, and Greater Chennai Corporation ₹171.20 crore, the document stated.
The integrated stormwater drain works have been divided into three phases for the M1, M2 and M3 components. In phase I, the works will be carried out in Nanganallur, Medavakkam, Kannan Colony, and Mylai Balaji Nagar areas for a length of 41.77 km, at an estimated cost of ₹150.45 crore. So far, 77% of the works have been completed, and the remaining works are expected to be completed by March 2024.
In phase II, the integrated stormwater drain works are being carried out in Bhuvanesvvari Nagar, Puzhuthivakkam, Kannagi Nagar, Madipakkam Main Road, Nehru Nagar, Tsunami Nagar, MCN Nagar, and Thoraipakkam areas for a length of 118.77 km, at an estimated cost of ₹447.03 crore and 46% of the works have been completed. The remaining works will also be completed by January 2025.
